Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/654,551

INTEGRATED MONITORING CAPACITY OF A POWER BANK BATTERY AND DEVICES CHARGED THEREWITH

Non-Final OA §101
Filed
May 03, 2024
Priority
Mar 11, 2021 — divisional of 11/668,757 +1 more
Examiner
ALEJANDRO, RAYMOND
Art Unit
1727
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Duracell U.S. Operations Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
936 granted / 1182 resolved
+14.2% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
43 currently pending
Career history
1226
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
37.8%
-2.2% vs TC avg
§102
25.6%
-14.4% vs TC avg
§112
24.7%
-15.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1182 resolved cases

Office Action

§101
DETAILED ACTION The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Priority This application is a division of S/N 18/113909, filed 02/24/23, which is a division of S/N 17/198991, filed 03/11/21. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/03/24 and 12/29/25 was considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawings were received on 05/03/24. Specification The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the current status of all parent applications must be updated (i.e., whether abandoned or patented/patent #). Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. Claims 1-10 are directed to a computer-implemented method per se. The present claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the claimed subject matter simply appears to perform some basic/general calculations, comparisons, and/or data collection/gathering of a generic source of values without significantly: (i) providing tangible/physical structures, features, components, and (ii) performing clear adjusting/interactive steps/actions in order to carry out a reasonable feedback and transformational action(s)/step(s) within the claimed processors, and/or within a power bank and/or a battery per se. As best understood by the examiner, the claimed invention appears to merely provide: (i) a basic/conventional control unit/method (i.e., a basic/conventional controlling element or mechanism) just to perform certain calculations or determinations which is acting as a general-purpose computer without apparently causing any action(s)/step(s) to occur; and/or making an adjustment or providing a reasonable feedback; and/or providing an interactive mechanism or process; and/or triggering/initiating/generating any concrete/tangible activity; and in particular, (ii) a processor(s) being routinely conventional which does not make a contribution over the prior art. To expedite prosecution, further technical explanation and/or elaboration on this matter is necessary. Further, applicant is encouraged to further elaborate the claim language to clearly address and/or clarify the foregoing point/topic. Therefore, this judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application; and the claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following prior art references disclose subject matter related to the claimed invention: Lee et al’977 and Ishibashi’472. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND ALEJANDRO whose telephone number is (571)272-1282. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday (8:00 am-6:30 pm). Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas A. Smith can be reached at (571) 272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /RAYMOND ALEJANDRO/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 1752
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 03, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12749726
BATTERY PACK ASSEMBLY WITH A HEATER INTEGRATED VOLTAGE SENSE
4y 0m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12749725
BATTERY MODULE WITH INTEGRATED PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
3y 8m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12747997
TESTING METHOD FOR A THERMAL CONTACT
3y 3m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12744288
CYLINDRICAL BATTERY, AND BATTERY PACK AND VEHICLE INCLUDING THE SAME
2y 10m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12738549
SECONDARY BATTERY, SECONDARY BATTERY CONTROL SYSTEM, AND BATTERY PACK
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+22.2%)
3y 4m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1182 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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